Lucky
by SassyAngel05
Summary: Sawyer stumbles upon three more survivors, and he brings them to the beach. Sora won't stand for any more tragedy in their lives, but does she really have any control over it? SawyerKate, BooneOC, ClaireCharlie
1. Default Chapter

Title: Lucky

Author: Sassy  
Rating; PG-13

Pairing: Sawyer/Kate, Boone/OC, OC coupling as well. Probably some Charlie/Claire as well

Disclaimer; JJ Abrams owns them. He has restored my faith in him by writing Lost

Summary: Sawyer stumbles upon three other survivors and he brings them back to camp. Boone's afraid of helping anyone due to his innate ability to screw things up, and that includes talking to the new girl in camp. And Sora, well, she just won't stand for any more traumas after the crash, but there's not much she can do to stop them.

**_Lucky_**

**_Chapter One_**

**_Over the Rainbow_**

Sawyer had hidden himself away in the jungle again. He always snuck into the thick trees when he wanted to disappear from all the disapproving gazes he had eyeing him constantly. Sure, not everyone completely despised him. Well, maybe that was a lie, but he liked to think that under their revulsion, they liked him just a little bit. Or at least Kate did. Kate certainly enjoyed bantering with him on numerous occasions. But Kate was a bit infatuated with Hero, or maybe even Prince Ali, so he didn't really stand a chance against such _noble_ men.

Here he was, hiding in the jungle, where no one would bother him. Most people feared the jungle, even the geniuses living in the caves. They didn't go into is unless they were forced to, and they never went in alone. Sawyer found the peace in the jungle enjoyable, though slightly disconcerting. He had grown accustomed to the buzz of survival humming around him, and the silence was unnerving now. Still, he was glad to be away from everyone else, even if they avoided him for the most part unless they needed something. Sawyer continued his trek while he wiped sweat off of his forehead. The heat was suffocating, and that was the one thing he hated about the island. There was no way to escape the heat and it never eased. He was tired of feeling so sticky, but there wasn't much he could do to change it. He didn't control the weather. He didn't even control himself.

Sawyer stopped and leaned on a tree to take a few deep breaths while he tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his arm. His bandages were dirty and starting to soak through with his blood. A new battle scar courtesy of his favorite terrorist. He let a surge of anger run through him at the memory of being tortured by an Iraqi soldier while the good doctor stood idly by as if it were a new picture at the local movie theater. He sighed loudly, trying to ignore the images that ran through his head of Sayid's face when he rammed the bamboo up his fingernails. Tinkling laughter broke through the images and for a moment, Sawyer thought he was hearing things. Who would be laughing this far into the jungle besides the monster?

He listened more closely; trying to discern the direction the laughter was coming from. The chuckling was carefree and happy, not a sound common to the island. It only served to intrigue Sawyer farther. He followed the sound and found himself stopped just shy of a clearing. Two men and a woman sat around a campfire. The woman looked more girl than actual woman, her long black hair trailing down her neck damply, her cheeks dimpled childishly. The two men with her seemed to be best friends or perhaps even brothers, due to their similar mannerisms. At first glance, they seemed to be fighting animatedly, but as Sawyer's eyes narrowed in on them, it seemed more accurate that they were re-enacting something. The girl laughed again as the boy landed on his knees in front of her, his hands outstretched, his mouth wide. He was singing, Sawyer realized. Sawyer stepped in closer to hear what the men were performing, but he missed a rather large root in his path. Sawyer didn't cry out as he went flying through the air, but his face did show his utter surprise at being tossed in the air. The trio's face showed just as much shock as Sawyer's when he landed directly in front of the girl.

Sawyer ignored the pain that shot through his body as he shot the woman a mischievous grin.

"Well, howdy there, Sweetness."

She scooted backwards towards the two men as she saw the mocking amusement in Sawyer's icy blue eyes. One man made a move to stand in front of the woman in a protective stance. Sawyer saw that her leg was stuck out in front of her, a bad splint holding it together almost.

"Who are you?" He asked in a warning tone, his Irish accent unmistakable.

"I could be askin' you the same thing, Lucky."

Sawyer's easy smirk was back in place as his eyes scanned over the group in front of him. Now that he was closer, he could see oddly pretty the woman really was compared to the harshness of the island. She seemed unscarred by what had happened on that plane.

"We asked you first."

Sawyer rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he considered whether he wanted to answer or not.

"Well, since we're back in first grade then, the name's Sawyer. Now it's your turn."

The two men glared at Sawyer and he wondered briefly what he had done to make these two hate him so much. He was used to the hate. He typically deserved it; after all, he had become the man he had grown up despising. But he'd hardly even had a conversation with these guys and he'd already earned their open hostility. Well, he was becoming accustomed to it, so he didn't care, not really.

The woman waved her hand, signaling the boys to step back. She offered him an impish grin before she spoke in the same lilting Irish accent as the first guy.

"I'm Sora and I'd love it if you'd be leaving the leprechaun jokes out, man."

Sawyer chuckled at her response. She had spirit, he had to admit.

"What? No pot at the end of this rainbow jokes? No magically delicious puns? What am I supposed to talk about?"

Sora laughed melodically again. She didn't seem to hate him. In fact, she seemed amused by him. She shook her head.

"I'm sure you'll find something to talk about, Mr. Sawyer. You don't seem like the speechless type."

"Just Sawyer, Blue Eyes."

The amicable silence that descended between the two almost battled for control between the tensions the men consistently held onto. Sora looked down at the fire, her splint dangerously close to the flames. Sawyer took note of her leg and wondered just how much pain she was in. She didn't exactly have a bottle of painkillers with her. He involuntarily touched his arms where his bloody bandage was. He knew he wished he had painkillers. He cursed Sayid once more.

The four seemed content to look at each other, as if they believed staring would teach them something vital. Finally, Sora asked the question that had been hanging in the air.

"Are you a plane crash survivor, then? From the Australian airline?"

Sawyer nodded slowly. He realized there had to be a reason that they asked that. Were there others on the island, besides that French woman, that weren't from the same plane crash? "Are you?"

"Yes. I thought we were the only ones that made it. Then again, we haven't really been up to explorin' the island with my bum leg. These two won't leave me alone, and they won't go into the jungle alone either."

"There's something in the jungle, Sora, so they were right not to leave you alone."

"You're alone, aren't ya? I would have been fine. Sitting here has been just about as exciting as watching paint dry."

"Well, it's not much better on the beach, darlin'. It's the whole deserted island catch."

"You're not the only other one that survived?"

"Naw. I came out here to get away from the others. They don't like me much. They'd probably like me to get gobbled up by that monster out there. And I'm not afraid of the boogeyman, so I chose to come out and explore. And look what I found over the rainbow."

Sawyer smirked at his joke and Sora could stop herself from smiling, even if the joke was bad.

"Hey! I told you no leprechaun jokes, Dorothy."

Sawyer laughed at the girl's Wizard of Oz joke. He'd deserved it and he enjoyed how sharp this girl was. He might not mind having her around, though her friends were a different story. Sora had the same charm Kate did. He liked having Kate around, most of the time. The difference between Kate and Sora, other than the obvious differences, was that he wanted to kiss Kate. He didn't want to kiss Sora.

"You know, we've got a little civilization growing at the beach and a cave. We've even got us a doctor, even if he does have a hero complex, that might be able to fix your leg right."

"Except I can't really walk with my leg being messed up."

"I'd carry you, but my arms injured. Unfortunate ending to a torture session by a terrorist and a doctor who mistook Hippocratic to be hypocritic. I can't help you to get to the beach, other than lead you."

The man who stood behind Sora finally spoke again.

"We can carry her. If we choose to come with you. You could be leading us to…"

"The polar bears?" Sawyer said smartly.

"The polar bears?" Sora asked quietly. They were on a tropical island. How would there be polar bears? "I haven't seen any polar bears, _Tom_."

He grinned at her little nickname for him, and for once, he didn't hate the name Sawyer.

"That's because I shot it, Blue Eyes."

Sora looked at him disbelievingly.

"Honest to God truth. Got witnesses back at the camp. Now I wanna get back before it gets dark out, so you're either coming or you're not."

Sora looked at her companions pleadingly. Sawyer realized how lonely they must have been out there, believing they were the only survivors of the plane crash. They must have felt so isolated and hopeless, with no real thought of being rescued. Even he held onto the hope of rescue while he was being fried under the beach's sun. Sawyer watched the other two breaking down like putty in the girl's hands. They'd obviously do anything for her, just to make her happy.

"We'll go."

One man, the one with red hair, made a move to put the fire out.

"Before we do go, buddies, I'd like to know some names. I've got Sora here and…"

"They're stubborn brothers, the lot of the O'Reilly clan are. Patrick here is my boyfriend. And the one putting the fire out is Avery, Patrick's brother, who likes tagging along with everything we do. He was tagging along with us to the States, like he always does. He's learned his lesson now, what with the crash and all."

She shot a taunting look to Avery, who ignored her comment. That said more about their relationship than anything that could have been said. Sawyer didn't have too much time to consider what he was seeing because Patrick swept the girl in his arms, careful of her leg. Avery straightened up as the smoke fizzled away after the fire had been covered. He followed closely behind Patrick and Sora, in case he needed to take over if Patrick became tired. Sawyer was almost confused by how wordlessly the trio divided everything up into a neatly defined system. He watched them for a moment more before turning on his heel and returning into the dense jungle with no warnings to watch out for offending roots.

Kate stood at the edge of the jungle, watching for Sawyer to return from his mysterious trek into the trees. He had disappeared after he had rested from the injury he had. He was still weak from blood loss and Kate actually feared for him. Sawyer was a stubborn ass, but he wasn't invulnerable to basic human weakness. If he collapsed in the jungle, no one would know and no one would be able to help him. She hated that she worried about him. She shouldn't. Sawyer could take care of himself. He didn't deserve her worry anyway. He blackmailed her into kissing him when he didn't even have the inhalers!

But that kiss hadn't been all about the inhalers; she knew it even if she didn't want to admit it to anyone. It had been about him and her and the undeniable connection of pain and betrayal and misplaced desires of being okay for just a moment. She had seen his heartbroken look right before their lips had met. It was too real to be a con for her benefit to extract some sympathy from her. He had wanted her and she hated to even think it, but she wanted him. It shamed her, at least at that moment, but she had given in. Then slapped him out of disgust with herself for wanting it. She wasn't as ashamed of the kiss as she had been at first. Perhaps because she now understood Sawyer's driving force. His self-loathing and hate of the man that had sent Sawyer's life into a downward spiral was a powerful force. Or maybe she wasn't ashamed because she had realized she didn't have to impress anyone on that forsake island. They were stuck with her no matter what they thought of her. Whatever it was, it had sent her to the edge of the jungle to wait impatiently for Sawyer's return.

Kate didn't know how long she had been standing outside the jungle, staring into the greenery. It must have been quite awhile because Boone approached her quietly, so quietly that she hardly even noticed his presence.

"Are you all right, Kate?"

Kate turned to see Boone studying her. She hadn't really talked to Boone much. She'd been too occupied following Jack around and battling Sawyer to talk with him. She didn't know him, but he was perceptive enough to know she was worried.

"I'm fine, Boone. Thanks."

She tried to make her facial expression convey her lie of being fine, but she failed miserably at it. How sad that her, an expert liar, couldn't lie properly on that island. People could see the truth just by looking at her.

"You've been staring into the jungle for an awful long time to be fine, Kate. Are you worried about Sayid being out there alone?"

"Sayid, yeah, I'm worried about him. But he can take care of himself. I know that. He's trained to take care of himself. He's a soldier."

"Well, if you aren't waiting for him, whom are you waiting for?"

Kate glanced down at the ground guiltily, all of her previous feelings of not being ashamed about Sawyer having disappeared. Her hair fell into her face, hiding her expression. Of course, her ducking her head said a lot to Boone. She was worried about someone. Who?

"Sawyer." She whispered his name, perhaps out of hope that Boone wouldn't hear her, but she could say she answered his question. Unfortunately, Boone did hear.

"Sawyer went into the jungle? By himself?"

"Yes."

"So he may be killed by the monster?" Boone couldn't hide the pleasure of that thought from his face.

"Boone!"

"Come on, Kate. Everyone in this camp wishes Sawyer would just disappear."

"Not everyone. I don't!"

"He's a horrible man. He probably deserved to die in that plane crash more than anyone else on that plane! He pretended to have my sister's inhalers when Shannon was really sick. I have plenty of reason to wish him gone. Don't act like I'm the bad guy."

"Well, he's also helped-- well, at least he finally admitted he didn't have it."

_After that kiss_, Kate silently added in her head.

"He attacked Sayid. He fought Jack. He harasses Shannon."

"Sawyer harasses everyone. And he was tortured and stabbed by Sayid. Jack, our good doctor, stood by and watched."

"That doesn't excuse his behavior. That only recently happened. What was his excuse for being a jerk before? Tormented childhood? We all have problems, Kate. That doesn't give Sawyer a license to be a bully."

Kate knew Boone was right, but she also understood where Sawyer was coming from. Self-loathing was a powerful force that led to cruelty to others. She understood he was also cruel as a self-protecting method as well. Hurt everyone else before they hurt you. She'd used it several times and Sawyer's use of it was working charmingly. Besides, she knew Sawyer could be completely charming if he wanted to be. Boone didn't really know Sawyer. Actually, none of the survivors really knew each other, no matter how much time they spent with each other.

"I realize that. I just-"

Kate trailed off as she saw Sawyer emerge from the brush. He looked a little pale, but otherwise unharmed. What shocked her was the trio that followed him. She'd never seen them before, but they looked like they'd been on the island for a while. Two men held a woman between them, her leg stuck out in front of them. Kate realized it must be broken. She rushed forward to help the men while calling out for someone to find Jack.

Boone seemed to be frozen to his place in the shade. Kate had hurried over to help Sawyer with the three new people added to his group. The two men looked not much older than he was, but it was the woman who caught his attention. She wasn't exactly what he would describe as stunningly beautiful. In fact, she appeared to fairly average as far as looks were concerned, but of course, she was far away. She had also spent quite a bit of time on a deserted island and they all kind of looked rock hard and weary. Still, there was something about that drew Boone towards her, mad him want to know her. He hadn't felt that way about anyone on the island so far. He knew deep inside that he should help them get her some place comfortable. She looked like she had been injured. But Boone didn't think he could actually move towards them. So he faded into the shadows and watched as Kate and several others went to help. He preferred observing anyway. He always seemed to mess things up when he tried to help. Look at the time he tried to save that woman. He'd ended up sentencing her to death. And when he packed Shannon's inhalers in his suitcase. If Shannon had kept them, they would have the inhalers right then. Boone would be helping her by keeping his distance.


	2. Worry

**_Lucky_**

**_Chapter Two_**

**_Worry_**

Jack rushed to the group that had followed Sawyer out of the jungle. He'd heard Kate scream for him to come and help, he'd seen the rush to the new survivors. He ran over to meet them and quickly took charge of the injured woman. That was what he did on the island. He took charge.

He insisted that they bring her to Sawyer's 'tent'. Much to Jack's surprise, Sawyer didn't fight on bringing her there. In fact, Sawyer seemed almost intent on following her. But Jack couldn't focus on Sawyer at the moment, nor did he want to. Jack had to focus on the girl with the broken leg.

"I'm Jack, Miss. I'm a surgeon."

"Ah, well, does that mean my leg's coming off, Doctor?"

Jack couldn't stop his mouth from curving at her joke, but he continued to talk with her to find out all he could.

"Where have you been hiding?"

"Somewhere in the jungle, Doc. I'm not a cartographer, you know."

"What are you, then?"

"Primary schoolteacher. I'm Sora."

"What happened to your leg, Sora?"

At that moment, the brothers sat her down as gently as they could. Of course, gentle onto the sand was hardly easy on her leg. Sora winced, but she tried to hide it. Patrick went crazy when she was in pain and she couldn't really deal with his over-protectiveness at the moment.

Avery noticed Sora's flinch. He couldn't blame her. He'd seen the infection grow the longer they were in the jungle. He never mentioned it to anyone, he never would have. He had known that it would scare Sora to death before she put that tough façade on to protect his brother. And once her shield was up, there would be no breaking through, no discussing the possibilities of what was happening. He left it unsaid so all would be oblivious to the true circumstances. But now he imagined that the doctor would let them all know. He watched Sora closely as she began to laugh uncomfortably. She was already trying to hide her pain. That was Sora Hanrahan for you.

"How'd it happen? You really are the master of the obvious inquiry, you know. The crash caused it."

Jack began to examine her leg and could see the white puss forming where the break had been. Not a good sign at all. They were already short on penicillin since he'd had to give Sawyer regular doses to stop any infection on his arm. Too bad he'd wasted it all on him. But a guilty voice inside Jack's head reminded him that he was the reason Sawyer needed the medicine in the first place. Sora was more inclined to infection since she had been in the jungle, vulnerable to the elements and he didn't know if he would be able to save her leg with what little medication was left. He'd have to find some way to converse with Sun about something to help the leg.

"I was trying to get you to tell me about the crash. How did you wind up way out there? Most of us landed near the beach."

Sawyer cut in at that moment, stopping the line of questioning. She seemed a little disturbed at even thinking about the crash, and he didn't really like seeing her that way. It was weird, feeling like he should help her, but he had been the one responsible for bringing her to the beach. He could at least get her started off comfortably before the 'hero' started in on her.

"Come on, Doc, she's tired and she's hurt. We really don't need you to become a psychologist now."

"Stay out of it, Sawyer. She doesn't really involve you."

"I'm the one that found her, so I'd say that involves me."

Sora watched the two argue back and forth, and she watched the woman with the dark hair start to shift uncomfortably. The fight was very obviously not about Sora, but about the dark haired woman. Kate, she'd said her name was, Sora thought. She wondered if the woman would step in, but it didn't seem likely.

"Come on, Tom, I'm fine. I can answer the question myself. The last thing I need is another _protector_."

Sawyer turned to Sora, surprised that she had spoken. He was even more surprised that he'd answered to her nickname for him.

"Don't let the Surgeon General here bully you, Blue Eyes. He seems to think he's God around here and someone needs to take him down a few pegs."

"It doesn't need to be now, Sawyer. Everything's a bloody mess right now, and you fightin' with him isn't going to help my leg. Why don't you and the pretty lady go on for now and let the Doc fix me up?"

To everyone's surprise, Sawyer seemed to accept her request. No one had seen Sawyer listen to a single person on the island until Sora had said that. Kate felt an unfamiliar twinge of jealousy rise at the friendliness between the two. She did, however, prepare to follow Sawyer out of the shelter.

"All right. I'll come find ya later, darlin'. You coming with me, Freckles?"

"Yes. I have a few things I need to discuss with you anyway." She narrowed her eyes and Sawyer tried to resist the urge to laugh. She was angry with him. She was pretty hot when she was angry. He always liked his girls fired up.

They left the tent and Jack watched Sora in a sort of amazement. He had never seen Sawyer react that way. But Sora was already past telling Sawyer what to do and was ready to start talking about the plane crash.

"The three of us were sitting happily unaware in business class. I'd even fallen asleep. Suddenly, the plane started shaking and everything just fell apart. The three of us didn't even have our seatbelts on - they were too uncomfortable. And so we flew out when the plane broke."

"You survived that? That's astonishing. Especially with no more damage than you did."

"I suppose you're right. The three of us thought we were the only survivors. We were playing the waiting game for when we all just died."

"That must have been pretty lonely and terrifying."

Sora's eyes were haunted, as anyone who had lived through what the survivors had would look. "Kind of hopeless."

"I think we're all very helpless. Direct result of seeing our plane break in midair, 1,000 miles off course."

Sora flinched, whether it was from Jack's words or his movement of her leg. But he didn't have time to figure it out because Patrick had broken in.

"What do you mean we're 1,000 miles off course? That means no one will find us. That's too far off a grid map for rescue."

Jack suddenly felt guilty for speaking so carelessly. Of course these three had no idea that the plane was off course. They had probably felt this big surge of hope when they'd discovered there were other survivors and imagined their chances of rescue were much greater. If only they had known.

"We're still hopeful for rescue, but we are learning how to survive without our old conveniences. Don't worry about survival. And we'll be rescued eventually. It just might not be as soon as we'd like it to be."

Jack tried to make his words comforting, but he wasn't so sure if he was doing a good job at that. The two brothers seemed more irritated and he bet it had to do with the stressed look on Sora's face. Jack took out some fresh bandages and some antiseptic that remained. He began to spread it on her dirty leg, trying to clean the wound. She sucked in her breath as he continued to work on the leg, hoping he'd be able to heal it without having to remove it. The foursome could no longer speak, though. Each was lost in their own thoughts of misery and pain.

Kate stood on the beach, staring out at the water. She refused to look at Sawyer. He had that charming smile that would make her forget why she was angry with him. She did not want to lose that anger. It drove her. She liked feeling something besides guilt. She could sense Sawyer was watching her, studying her, imploring her to look at him. But she wouldn't. She was just as stubborn as the southerner.

"What were you thinking, Sawyer, running around the jungle with your arm the way it is? You were tortured and you lost a lot of blood. You run a high risk of getting an infection, an infection that would not easily be healed here, and you act like that doesn't even matter!"

"Risk of infection is why the good doctor has been pushing pills down my throat."

"Doesn't mean you should tempt fate. I think we've done enough of that lately."

"Aw, Freckles, you didn't need to get your panties in a twist over me."

"Shut up, Sawyer." She no longer wanted to hear his slow drawl surrounding her every thought, the drawl that made her heart speed up and her senses fall away just a bit.

"You were worried about me."

"Annoyed by you is the more accurate statement."

"I never would have found the lucky charms if I hadn't gone out there. They would have died out there by themselves if they'd stayed out their much longer."

"You suddenly care about the well-being of others?" She said it incredulously, which made Sawyer shrug nonchalantly. He shifted so he could sit on the sand while he debated whether he should tell Kate why he had left for the jungle. He hated sharing personal things about himself, even to Kate - who usually seemed to understand where he was coming from. Especially because she understood. He was used to being misunderstood. He deserved to be misunderstood.

"It's not any of your business if I do go into the jungle, Freckles. My well-being won't affect yours."

Kate's face fell into a dark look that Sawyer hadn't seen often. She kicked the sand stubbornly, enough to make some sand fly into his face, but she ignored his exclamations.

"Fine. I knew I was crazy for worrying about you, anyway. You can take care of yourself. And if you can't, you'll just die. Doesn't make a difference to me."

She turned on her heel and stomped away like a spoiled little girl. Perhaps the best impression of Sticks he'd ever seen. Kate wasn't the type to flounce with style, but she wasn't usually a stubborn child either. Sawyer watched her with interest, and his smirk formed instantly. He loved getting a rise out of Kate. And she made it so easy.

Boone watched Shannon from a distance after he had hidden himself away under a palm tree. He always seemed to be watching from a distance. She was smiling at Sayid, her usual self-indulgent smile that somehow got her everything she wanted. Sayid seemed partially enthralled in her, yet somewhat separated from their conversation. And Boone understood exactly how Sayid felt when he spoke with Shannon. That didn't mean he sympathized with Sayid at all. He hated watching Shannon flirt with the man shamelessly, just as she tried to do with all the men on the island. He understood her, understood that she needed the attention. He had accepted it. But that didn't make him any less jealous. He was so sick of watching from a distance. Watching Shannon, watching Jack save the day, watching Sawyer steal Kate by being a jerk. He was tired of watching Locke hunt, watching Charlie earn Claire's affection, watching people grieve. He wanted to be involved. He wanted to help. He wanted to stop feeling jealous and protective of Shannon. He wanted to feel that way towards someone who deserved it. Someone who wasn't Shannon.


End file.
